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Introducing: Flashback Friday

Kelly and I have decided to introduce a few themed days so that everyone can read a fresh new entry or two.. or three a week. Yes, there will be more than just this one. 🙂

Flashback Friday is just how it sounds. We will take a look at things, people, events, and such from the past and discuss them.

For this Flashback Friday, I’ve decided to talk about Virtual Pets, especially the handheld ones.

There was Tamagotchi, GigaPet, and NanoBaby. They were huge when I was a kid, and to this day I can’t figure out why. That’s not to say that I wasn’t a part of this fandom because I actually still am.

I can understand why a kid with no pets would gravitate towards these little guys, but I personally owned a few cats, dogs, and other pets and I still was hooked. Why?

It had to have been because I could take it anywhere with me. That no matter whether my friends were talking to me, my little virtual pet would always need me and want me.

Or at least, that’s the conclusion I’ve come to. They were a constant friend that went with you everywhere. Not even your pet dog or kitty could do that.

I can still remember getting my GigaPet taken away from me several times at my elementary. I would go home so distraught and tell my parents that the teacher took him. (It was a him, ok!) I had the Digital Doggie, and that lil’ guy would beep at me mid-class and off he went into the teacher’s desk. I would always be so upset. I mean, how would I clean his poop if he was in her desk?

Haha, anyway.. I gravitated toward virtual pets and virtual life for years. The first Sims got me good, and I was always looking for the next big virtual pet game or toy. I had the Digital Doggie, the Alien, and the Tamagotchi game for Gameboy. I loved building SimCities and years later even tried Zoo Tycoon.

So tell me, did you get sucked into this craze? Are you still drawn to it?

I can admit that I am, although I don’t own anything but a Tamagotchi at this point. And you know where he is? Paused and in a drawer somewhere in my apartment. 😉

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5 thoughts on “Introducing: Flashback Friday”

They were banned in my elementary school, which didn’t stop me from keeping an eye on mine (thankfully the teacher gave it back later, since I promised not to bring it in again). Then in middle school I picked up the tamagotchi-esque pokemon pikachu, and at that point I was more likely to get caught by my classmates (who thought it was childish). The pedometer that came with soul silver had me reliving that a bit, and with the added bonus of actual pokemon to transfer to your game, it was hard not to have it on at all times. Until I ran it out of batteries, anyway…

Oh my, they were banned? That’s a little harsh. I mean, sure they made announcements that no toys were allowed and that these virtual pets were toys.. But that didn’t stop us from bringing them anyway. It didn’t stop any kid from packing along their favorite toys. I had all sorts of ways to stash toys back in the day, haha.

A Pikachu tamatgotchi sounds awesome. I didn’t have one and nobody I knew did, but if I would have known about it I would’ve asked my parents for it. 🙂 And yes, the pedometer! It’s pretty close, haha. They actually still sell Tamagotchi’s, but its hard to find a simple one.

YES! I was completely obsessed with these things. Everyone at my school wanted one, and of course people got distracted because of it. I think the teachers had to confiscate a few. I never had a pet, but I sort of wanted one as a kid. The virtual pet was a good substitute. Good memories. I think mine are dead somewhere at the bottom of a bin. 😛